VIETNAM TODAY

Starbucks Corp. will have to convince architect Tran Cao Tho and his friends to switch from stronger and cheaper coffee at their neighborhood cafe when it enters Vietnam next month.

At least 19 people died when two railroad passenger cars derailed in Egypt after midnight Monday, officials said.

Authorities are trying to contain cigarette smuggling activities which have been on the rise as Tet nears.

HCM City saw only two traffic jams lasting over 30 minutes in 2012, according to one report which bewildered the public.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong will make a trip to Belgium, the European Union, Italy and the United Kingdom from January 17 to 24.

Agencies will set up eight inspection teams to check food safety in 24 cities and provinces from now to the Tet Holiday.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will appear before lawmakers on January 23 to be quizzed about the deadly attack on a US mission in Libya.

Managers of the Hanoi Zoo have asked their workers to help protect the animals from the winter cold.

With impending charges due on ATM services, consumers are looking for free of charge outlets.

Recent activities by the Chinese side have violated Vietnam’s sovereignty, sovereign right and jurisdiction in the East Sea.

Vietnam wants to further develop the strategic cooperation partnership with the Republic of Korea, NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung told his RoK counterpart Kang Chang Hee.

An air strike Monday on several houses in the rebel-held town of Moadamiyat al-Sham southwest of Damascus killed at least eight children and five women, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

HCM City's Department of Transport has blacklisted 443 contractors who have violated the construction regulations.

The government recently approved a project worth VND340 billion (USD16.3 million) on education development until 2020.

Some 2,000 business and government leaders from around the world attended the Asian Financial Forum which opened today in Hong Kong.

A Quang Ninh police officer who died while on duty attempting to stop chicken smugglers has had his rank increased posthumously.

The EVN is completing negotiations with financial institutions to get a USD2.58-billion loan for its power projects in 2013.

About 100 Vietnamese nurses will get training and work in Germany under a pilot programme between the two countries, according to the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs.

AIESEC Hanoi and Club 350 will jointly conduct a project to build awareness on climate change for students in Hanoi.